dinnertime [warrigal]

[xaethra]

One step. Two step. Quiet as air, light as a feather - he was a complete master at this. The goat was just lying there; sunlight painted harsh strips onto its black hide and the dingo continued to near it. So close that he could almost taste the succulent hide in his mouth; admittedly he hadn't eaten for quite some time and his belly was kicking up a storm. His head cocked, nose lifted to scent the wind; he was downwind of the prey - the perfect position to take it down. Inwardly, his belly was already preparing to savour the flesh. One paw at a time he edged closer. His thickset body hugged the ground; broad shoulders carried him along with the ease of a panther. And yet still, so close to this feast. He allowed himself a small rumble of approval that built a little too much in his chest and was instantly silenced - he would not want to alarm such a tasty looking morsel to his presence. Another few steps until he was almost upon it. And then he sprang from the brush; hind legs tightening and contracting as he leapt skywards and slammed - quite literally - onto the body of the goat. It fell forwards and sideways, leaving the dingo scrabbling for a paw hold on the heaving mass. It was then that he took in the full scene; saw the film of death upon the goats eyes that had not been cause by his own paw. He leapt away from the kill instantly; suppose someone had been watching - positively mortifying. A casual stroll around the kill would help to ease his form, and so there forth he began a little confident... strut around his carcas. Yes, his. The heat had obviously gotten to it before he had.

When quite satisfied none had seen his antics, and with barely a second moment of though he allowed his muzzle to seek out the still warmed flesh of the belly, tearing strips from the kill and savouring them in his mouth like a parched man quenches his thirst at the river. He ate quickly, used to the pressure that was on him; he could get shot out here for merely being here. Anything could happen. Of course, what he did not anticipate was another of his kind.

[Tiggs]

Another of his kind was exactly what was out there. Luckily for the male dingo, Warrigal had not seen his incredible goat-corpse hunt, and neither did she have territory to defend. She was a lone dingo bitch; no family pack held this area that she was aware, and so it was pure fate that she caught the scent of recently deceased goat on the wind. Hopefully she could get there before any other critters that might fight her for it.

What would ruin her day would be to find the goat, only to see than man was in the area. She would quickly be chased off, and likely be shot at or have a cattle dog or three set on her for her efforts. Summer was a plentiful time for food, although the young creatures born in spring were starting to get too big for a single dingo bitch to handle. Something the size of a goat would be enough to feed her full for a week.

Practically salivating as she crested the grassy knoll, she stopped in her tracks. Haunched over the black mass of the goat was a pale dingo dog, his pale muzzle already stained with blood. Bloody hell, nothing was ever easy. While not keen to share, Warrigal could not even think about chancing the big male away. He was older, bigger and stronger than her, and there was no family tie or other incentive to share other than common decency.

Chuffing, the dingo bitch saddled her ears and approached with caution. Maybe if she was nice enough, the dog would share, and the day that had got off to a good start wouldn’t take a turn for the worse and crash and burn around her ears.

[xaethra]

Oh man, this was good. He was so engrossed in his meal that he barely noticed the female casually approaching him, and by the time he did it was too late. His head shot up, ears pricking straight from their usual relaxed position and he spun around, back to the carcass, bloodied teeth bared. And then he stopped. He could feel some sense of domination radiating from her - although she was smaller in stance and presumably younger in age, she seemed to have a 'tough cookie' air about her. He let out a slight whine, loitering back by the corpse, eyes flitting between the two. He had no vices about sharing, but the question was whether she would tear his ears off for the very thought or suggestion. His tail lowered between his legs, he crept back a little, granting the female access to the meat.

"I'm sorry, ma'am uhh... ma'am." His tone was slightly stuttered and his huge bulk seemed to compress further as he backed his considerable weight down... towards a mud pitch of slope. Of course, he being the incredibly sensitive and all aware dingo that he was, he immediately noticed it. Too late. He slid down the mud with the speed of a running brumby, was pitched out and proceeded to roll around snapping at air for another ten seconds before he realised that it was not some demon come to snatch him away. He lifted himself slowly from the ground, ears flicking upwards and shook himself, sending dust clouds billowing from his already pale coat. He trotted back up the slope with a more careful step this time; admittedly he didn't want to get his ears ripped off, but he didn't want to abandon the chance of leftovers.

[Tiggs]

Ah, well her day certainly was looking up! Despite his size and gender, the dingo became instantly submissive the moment he saw her. Huffing, the female lifted her head, pricked her ears and approached him with a confident stride. She wasn’t the sort to look a gift-brumby in the mouth, so when the male backed off, she seized the dominance high ground.

As she approached, he backed off, stuttering apologies and cowering like a remorseful puppy. The male kept backing away, and she saw he was getting dangerously close to a fault in the ground that had created a sloping muddy cliff. Opening her mouth to warn him, it was too late. The male slipped over the edge, his creamy coat soon smothered in mud and dust as he scrambled to pick himself up at the bottom.

Watching from the top, the female shook her head despairingly. The poor creature was a quivering wreck, and she doubted just her presence was cause for his behaviour. Had he been spooked recently? Was there a pack in the area after all? Huffing, the female peered down the slope to the male, head tilted to one side questioningly. He seemed to be fine, and mustering what was left of his fragile dignity, he started making his way back up.

Warrigal pivoted, trotting over to the carcass and taking a position over it so she could see the male dingo while clearly making a claim on the meal. She would allow him to stay, but she would not let him eat while she was still hungry. “Wait your turn,” she warned, hackles prickling a little. She didn’t think she needed to add the verbal cue – she could probably bark, ‘boo’, and he would be falling back over the slope again – but just to be sure, she stood over the goat and fixed him with a steady stare.

[xaethra]

Hellhellhell. His day was failing miserably. What would his father say. Probably 'good effort son, a woman always wins'. No. He mustn't think those thoughts. He must be dominant, alpha male. With an impossibly deep breath that sent his chest out a full two inches further than its normal size, and a flex that made muscles he didn't even know he had ripple along his body, he marched back towards the kill. OK, show her who's boss. He lolloped around her form several times, circling both her and the goat in a wide sweep that left nothing from his sharp vision. He completed the circle a few more times... and then a few more. Right, he'd go on this one; but no, he merely continued to pace around her. Then he had an idea. Planting himself firmly behind her and lifting himself to his full height potential he let out a snarl that would have made his wolf ancestors proud.

"Back away whelp." He ducked his head into the space made by his shoulders, veins bulging along his impressive stature. His teeth bared impressively and his tail lifted to a dominant position. That was, until an inquisitive insect decided to take a gander at the inside of his nose.. First one eye twitched. Then he frowned, face screwing up. He wrinkled his nose - the ear spasmed slightly. His nose wrinkled again. And then he let out a huge sneeze which sent even his form shifting back a few paw steps. The intruding insect flew from his nose, landing smack in front of the female dingo, along with a casing of snot. Daku froze, mouth agape.

[Tiggs]

It seemed the male had changed his mind, and wanted the goat back after all. The summer sun was baking on her back, and she was sure she could feel the back of her ears crisping. The idea of a standoff didn’t appeal to the dingo bitch, and watching him circle her, she was getting increasingly agitated. If this turned into a fight, she would not be the victor.

As with all things, though, it was what you let the other dingo believe that was important. Scrambling over the goat, she struggled to stand over it and keep the male in her sights at all times. Her first impression of this dingo being nothing more than an overgrown pup were quickly becoming overshadowed, and when he stopped and stared at her, that snarl chilled her very bones. She replied with one of her own, hackles fully raised and tail curving over her back. She would win this; it was not in her nature to give up easily.

She could not take her eyes off those big long teeth of his, and she crouched over the goat defensively. She was going to have to back down, if those teeth so much as caught her...

Then his facade of bravado started to crumble, and Warrigal saw that the male was just a pretender. Violence was not in his heart, and the dingo bitch’s confidence returned. She glanced, disgusted, at the snotty mucus that he sneezed almost onto her feet, and she fixed him with a withering glare. Snarling, the female dingo leaped forward, baring her teeth in his face. This male was no threat, he was an overgrown pup, and the sooner he accepted her as the dominant party, the sooner she could eat and the sooner he could pick at the leftovers.

[xaethra]

Daku let out a loud bark at this stumble, his dog ancestry lending well to the savage edge. His tail was still held up; for the first time in a fair long time he at least felt a little like an alpha dog; and were he to keep his kill -he'd show this dingo female. Truthfully, he just wanted to be her friend, but if dominating her was what it took, well one, he would try to do it, and two, would probably fail. He realised the situation had been a little comical, and now he retained the urge to roll onto his back and plead, instead allowing one lip to curl upwards even more, baring the impressive canines again. He retreated, yet somehow loooped around her so that his side was facing the carcass. A few more pawsteps and his whole body would be covering the carcass, and even that was an impressive length that near enough no dingo could match unless bred with the domestic dog.

And then, quite firmly situated to the side of the carcass, he sat, teeth bared and eyes narrowed, his ears pricked upwards. He would sit here whilst the female ate; at least he had eaten his fill, and if she wished to get rid of him - why, she'd have to fight him off herself. He stamped one overgrown paw in the dust, something that he'd seen horses do and looked pretty impressive to him. Unfortunately, all it did was send up a bigger cloud of dust, which nigh on masked the two in the stuff. He felt the familiar urge to sneeze again and tried desperately to remain with this dominant stature, tail up, ears pricked and teeth bared. She'd have to make him leave. (Not that that would be that hard. ._.)

[Tiggs]

Teeth bared, the two circled. The male was sending mixed signals; one moment he was as pliable as a puppy, and the next he was a bastion of muscle and strength and power. She could respect the latter, but his unpredictability made it difficult for the female to get a reading on him. She could find out once and for all if he pouched on his indecisive backside, but if he didn’t yield, she would be one dead dingo.

He had manoeuvred himself back over to the carcass, and the female halted. It was time to make a decision, and she picked the safe option. Huffing, she lowered her tail a little – not a lot, but just enough to show him some respect – and crept forward again. They were back to the beginning again, and she approached him with saddled ears.

He seemed not to be stopping her from eating – perhaps he had already had his fill – and she cautiously reached out for the goat through the dusty cloud. She clamped her teeth around its muzzle and tugged it toward her just a little so she didn’t have to sit right up close to the male. She was a wary dingo, and while the imposing male was in lunging distance, she was not taking her eyes off him. Grunting her thanks, she ripped into the carcass where he had already started, her muzzle soon smothered in blood to match his.

[xaethra]

Daku sat there for a while longer until he watched her signs of slight submission. Inwardly he did the canine equivalent of an airpunch. He sat like that for a while, merely watching the female eat until he plucked up some manly courage - which of course, he had only just discovered. "I'm Daku. What's your name?" His tone was sharp, tetchy; a little like the growl of a faulty car. He tried again in a softer tone. "I'm sorry for my behaviour earlier. I'm Daku." His orange eyes flit across her light form, and he mentally compared himself to her, a habit he had taken up when he'd realised how different he was from other dingoes. With an ungraceful ease he lifted himself, padding over to where a rock overhang had left a few tiny droplets of water. His tongue rippled across the surface of these, and he took up what meagre sustanance they had, before turning back to the female. His head cocked slightly, once again returning to his puppylike manner and curious eyes closed on her.


"What brings you out here?" It was a friendly question, merely inquistive. His nose twitched and he peered around the little plateau upon which they sat. Faults in the ground had caused mud slides to rise around them, not unlike the one he had made a complete fool of himself on. But that was past. Again he looked towards the female.

[Tiggs]

He was blissfully quiet for a while, and she managed to wolf down a lot of goat before he interrupted. She was calmer now, and she was fairly sure the male wasn’t about to leap on her, steal the goat or otherwise ruin her day. Licking her chops, the dingo bitch sat up and pricked her ears at his voice. At least he sounded the part, even if the words were unsure and repetitive.

“My name is Warrigal,” she supplied. It was a very common name among dingoes, but she did not dislike it. She huffed at his second question, glancing pointedly at the goat, “Goat brings me here, Daku. What brings you here?” She was being a bit short with him, but she was a standoffish dingo bitch when it came to strangers, and the two had not got off to a good start.

She picked idly at the goat, having taken most of her fill. She was mellowed enough with a full stomach to back away slightly, inviting Daku over to pick at what was left with her. The tip of her bushy tail twitched, and she looked over the male with a fresh pair of eyes. He was quite a large dingo, giving him that imposing stature. His coat was oddly pale and long, adding to his bulk no doubt. She had not seen a dingo quite like him before, but pity for him, it did little to change her option of him; a temperamental – and perhaps immature – dingo dog.